


If It Comes Down to It

by Infinatesky



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Corruption, Crimes & Criminals, Dystopia, Government Agencies, Homophobia, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Robber!Dan, Robber!Phil, Roommates, Secret Relationship, Spy!Dan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 15:42:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19337545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Infinatesky/pseuds/Infinatesky
Summary: Dan and Phil's secret romance is about to be put through the ringer. Their Government is in ruins and many citizens have turned to crime in order to stay alive. Soulmates have been outlawed, and many known soulmate who chose to stay together have been killed.  When criminals and secret soulmates Dan and Phil are captured and separated, will newly-made-spy Dan be able to keep Phil safe?





	1. Take a deep breath

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Welcome to my first attempt at an action/adventure. I hope you enjoy!

Dan pulled the pin out and threw the hand grenade behind him. If they had their timing right, which they always did, Phil would have already loaded the gold bars into the van. Like clockwork, he would pull their matte black minivan around the front of the building just as Dan pushed through the doorway, followed immediately by the explosion of fire and debris from the impact of the grenade. In a world of corrupt governments and class divides, his accomplice was the one thing Dan could count on. 

When the van pulled around as expected, Dan swung into the passenger seat with a grunt. He pulled the heavy door closed as Phil stepped on the gas, urging them forward into the dark cloak of night. 

Dan's chest heaved up and down as loud, uneven breaths came in and out of his open mouth. He watched the golden glow of the bank on fire grow smaller and smaller in the rear view mirror. The cops would arrive soon, but would have no trace to follow. Their robbery was as good as done. 

"You all good there, Howell?" Phil kept his eyes on the road, but a teasing smile played at his lips. "Need an inhaler, or something?"

"Oh, shut it. You'd be out of breath too if your role included running around the whole building and then blowing it up." Dan knocked Phil affectionately on the shoulder with the grip of his handgun. "Anyways, nice to see you too, Babe. You got it all?"

"I got it all." Phil turned his head now to look Dan in the eye. The gaze was electric, and Dan felt the excitement as well. They had done it once again.

In the silence that followed, Dan rolled down his window and leaned his head out. They didn't have a radio because the signals could be tracked, but he hummed under his breath and found it just as nice. It was an old tune, from a time that existed only in memory fragments and faded photographs. Phil began to hum along, at some point, and his guttural sound soothed Dan into sleep. 

Hours later, he awoke unpleasantly with a pain in his neck and dry, cracked lips. Using one hand to push the dark curls of hair out of his eyes, he looked around. They were still driving, but the sun was close to rising and the air smelled of fish and salt.

"Goodmorning, beatiful," Phil said, "I could kiss you, but you look a mess."

Dan stretched his arms up and arched his back to push his face closer to Phil's, and puffed a breath of warm air against his face.

"Ewwww ew! Morning breath!" Phil said, fake gagging.  


Dan laughed. It was rare now, this playful back and forth. There was too much to do in a day to make time for anything like this, and he knew he had to enjoy the happy moments when he had them. He put an elbow on the center console and rested his head in his hand, turning to look at Phil properly.

"What are you looking at?" Phil refused to look towards him.

"You. You're so beatiful." Dan wasn't being sarcastic.

"You need to stop that."

"Not here, not now. For a second, let me say it." 

Phil didnt answer right away. Although he didn't acknowledge it, he obeyed Dan's wish - gave him a second to just do what he wanted. Too quickly, though, he brought them back to reality.

"We're almost there now. You know the plan. PJ and Alec will meet us at the dock, and then we're splitting up and taking two cars back to Fernfeild. It'll be harder to track us like that, if anyone tries."

Dan didn't say anything, but he knew him and Phil were thinking the same thing. They didn't want to split up, because when they did, there was always the possibility that one of them wouldn't make it back. And how would the other go on like that? 

+++

It looked and smelled like it was going to rain, but so far the foreboding dark clouds above them hadn't done anything but swirl in the sky like angry spirits. 

They arrived promptly at an isolated fishing dock off the west shore. There weren't many boats that came through here anymore, and the area was mostly used now for black market transportation. Dan and Phil had found a buyer who was paying them for the gold - double its worth in American cash. The value of the cash has plummeted, but it would still be more useful for them than gold bars - and the sooner that they could get rid of the stolen goods, the better. 

Dan slunk out of the van awkwardly, his body sore from 10 hours in the same position. He had to pee, and still hadn't brushed his teeth, but right now he had more pressing matters to attend to. 

He spotted a battered red Honda civic and approached it. Sitting inside of it were people who he categorized first in his mind as enemies, and secondly as coworkers. There was no part of him that considered PJ or Alec a friend, even through they all lived under the same roof and had been working together for years. 

Today they were here to help the deal go down smoothly, and to drive Dan and Phil home.  
Dan kicked the driver side door to wake up PJ, and bent down to talk when Pj descended the window. There were still a few details he wanted to sort out. They talked, voices low, and when they were done Dan stood up and turned away from the car. He let his gaze drift towards Phil, who was using the minivan mirror to fix his black hair back into a quiff. Dan let his eyes linger a moment longer than he knew he should, and he let them look a little lower than he knew he should, but who was there to see? 

The smell of gasoline flooded the area as a slow moving boat sputtered into the harbor. It was silver with peeling red paint, and it looked like it would give up and sink to the bottom of the murky water at any second. Luckily, they didn't have to take the boat anywhere, they only had to load it full of stolen gold bars.

The four young men worked in an efficient assembly line to transport the gold onto the boat - Dan had to ask himself, as he struggled to move even his quarter of the gold, how Phil had moved it all the night before. When they were done, Alec, who had been deemed the best at math, counted the money to make sure they had received the right payment. 

Dan was happy to watch the boat drive away; he wanted to leave this place that resembled the ocean but didn't feel like he remembered. No animals lived in this water, no children learned to swim here. This barren wasteland had taken the name of the ocean but had spat on it and stomped it into the ground. 

He was also happy to get into the red Honda and drive off, because every mile farther from here was a mile closer to Fernfeild. 

Alec drove him home. The group had decided that Alec and Dan's car would take a detour route, and Pj and Phil in the minivan would go straight home. This was in an attempt to throw the police off their trail, and make the whole robbery more inconspicuous. While Pj and Phil were taking the short route, Dan and Alec had the cash, because theirs was the car that hadn't been used for the crime. 

About 20 minutes into the drive, Alec started to make conversation. 

"Good go then, eh?" He mumbled. Alec wasn't much to look at, but Dan had always liked him because he hardly talked. Dan wasn't sure why Alec was trying to ruin that now. 

"Yeah, I guess so. Got the cash, didn't we?" Dan looked out the window as he said this. He watched as the sagging buildings and chipped sidewalks rushed by. There were only a few people he liked talking to - really, now only one - and Alec definitely wasn't one of them. Dan wondered how obvious he'd have to be before Alec took the hint.

"What d'ya reckon we'll do with it?"

"Well, it's mine and Phil's, to start with. You'll get a share, but it's mostly ours. We did the big job, after all." Dan couldn't help but get defensive. Phil had worked so hard so that they could have just a bit of something for themselves. He had planned the whole gig, and when it came down to it, it was Phil's life that had been on the line. If he hadn't gotten the gold and himself out in time, Dan's grenade would have blown him up. Dan didn't like to think about that possibility. 

"Ok, fine. Relax, I know how much you care about your boyfriend. He'll get his sha-" 

"What did you just say?" Dan whipped his head away from the window, staring daggers towards Alec. He was this close to throwing hands. 

"Hey, it's fine with me." Alec said, brows raised.

Dan sat back against his seat, but he didnt release the tension that had built in his neck and shoulders.

"You don't want to mess with me, Alec." He said, eyes fluttering closed. "I think maybe you should keep you mouth shut, from now on."


	2. Disappearing Act

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just had my English exam, which included a lot of writing that I didn't enjoy, so here's some writing that I did :)

Fernfeild was an oasis in the middle of a cement desert. In the days long before, it had belonged to Phil's grandparents. Their gardens, chock full off big, bushy green plants and sprinkled with colorful flowers, stood as a barrier between the quaint cottage house and the rest of the world. In his wildest dreams Dan imagined a future where he and Phil could walk laps of the garden, his hand holding Phil's pale one. Green wasn't a colour that you could see anywhere in the city except in dollar-bill form, and Fernfeild often felt like the last brick still holding strong in the wall that kept Dan's sanity stable. 

As the car drove up the cobblestone driveway, Dan realized he couldn't wait another second in the hot leather seat of Alec's Honda. He made Alec let him out in front of the door before going to park the car. 

Cherry wood, with a soft red tinted and visible grooves marking years of growth, made up the welcoming front door into Fernfeild cottage. The brick exterior, covered in crawling ivy, exhibited its cracked bricks in a completely different way than the buildings in the city did. There, the cracks symbolized weakness, damage caused by anger, and decrepit, unkempt buildings. At Fernfeild, the cracks in the bricks were something much more delicate. They were the result of an honest mistake, or harsh weather that had taken its tole in the house, but in turn not affected the people inside. Fernfeild was a memory kept soft and warm, and Dan didn't understand why he ever left it. 

Inside, the furniture was old and over stuffed. Hand knitted blankets and well-loved books lay sprawled over the couches and chairs, even though Dan was sure no one had touched either a knitted blanket or a book in ages. He walked slowly through the house, letting it's welcoming energy revive him. 

The house wasn't that big, but the four of them could fit quite comfortably inside of it. They shared the living room and kitchen, and each had their own rooms. The bigger two bedrooms, which belonged to Pj and Alec, were downstairs. Up in the attick, at the top of a very steep staircase, was the room that Dan and Phil shared. At one point it had been two separate rooms, but they had taken the center wall out and made it into a bigger, shared area. 

They each had a bed, for the purpose of keeping an image, but the two twin mattresses were always pushed together, a single blanket pulled across both. The mattresses laid on the floor, which was hardwood under an eternal layer of dust. On either side of the bed, each boy had his own assortment of bedside tables and wardrobes for keeping his limited assortment of clothes and possessions. Dan's side had more than Phil's side, which was saying a lot, because Dan had approximately 3 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, 1 pair of shoes, and not much else. But he did have the side of the bed that was, right now, being hit by the midday sun, and that was worth a lot. 

Dan flopped onto the bed still fully dressed. He threw one arm up over his eyes and the other one across the bed, enjoying the ability to stretch out after being squished in the passenger side of the car. The only thing that could make this better was if Phil would come up, his arrival would be impossible to miss because the stairs squeaked terribly everytime someone used them. 

Dan held his breath and waited to see if by some coincidence the stairs would start to squeak. They didn't, and so in the absence of the person who it was made for, Dan pulled his left sleeve back and looked lovingly over the swirling tattoo lines on the inside of his wrist. 

This beautiful thing wasn't any ordinary tattoo - it had been on Dan's arm since the moment he was born. He had been told stories of days when every single person had been born with a soulmate tattoo, but recently they had become more and more rare. 

The idea behind the soulmate tattoo was that only one other person had the same tattoo in the same place. Dan had been lucky enough to find his soulmate match - it was nearly impossible to find them now, because doing so was illegal and punishable by death. Because of the anger and resentment held by so much of the population over their lack of a soulmate tattoo, those who did have them had been turned into the villain. If you were found to have a tattoo, and even worse if you had found the other person with the same tattoo, both of you could be killed for committing an act against the government. 

Dan and Phil could be killed at any second for committing an act against the government.

But here, alone in the warm golden sunlight, Dan didn't feel any need to hide his tattoo. In this sanctuary he could be truely himself.

+++

Phil returned hours later - hours which had been excruciating for Dan. Why had Dan's trip back, which had been planned to be the longer one, gotten back so far ahead? He couldn't help but assume the worst. 

When, finally, Dan heard the moaning of the stairs that he had been waiting for, he leapt up off the bed. He met Phil in the doorway and wrapped his arms tight around Phil's waist, pushing their bodies together. It wasn't until Dan had brought Phil down onto their bed and had kissed him that Dan began to talk.

"Where have you been? I thought you had died." 

"Pj and I got a flat tire. It took a while for us to fix it because we never replaced the spare in the mini van, since last time. Remember?" 

Dan nodded in understanding, and Phil continued talking.

"I'm glad to hear you care about me, though. That's sweet." 

"Oh, be quiet, I'm not sweet. I was just worried that if they had found you they'd be coming to get me next." Dan said, the second part muffled as he buried his face against Phil's shoulder. They lied like that in complete contentment, the sun moving lower as the night came closer, so that it shone through the little windows in the wall and created spotlights around the room. Dan lifted Phil's arm and traced Phil's tattoo as he had his own. There were times when he couldn't believe his luck that he had managed to find his soulmate, and how amazing it was that they were happy and safe together. 

+++

Banging on the door startled Dan awake. The room was completely dark; Dan guessed that it must be some time around 22:00. He felt Phil moving beside him. Caught in the joy of having Phil so close to him, Dan took too long to remember that they weren't supposed to be sharing a bed. 

"What the hell is going on?" He yelled at the door, while trying to simultaneously wake Phil up with gentle words and soft touches. When Phil didn't get up quick enough, Dan gave up the niceties and pushed Phil off of his mattress so that he could pull them apart. He didnt get anymore than a few inches between the mattresses when the door shoved open, revealing a red-faced Pj on the other side.

"Alec's gone. He's taken the cash." 

Dan froze in his tracks, his brain processing what he was hearing. Surprisingly, it was Phil who replied first.

"What do you mean? Where has he gone?" 

"All that I know is that he took all of his things, as well as his car." Pj took a few steps in as he spoke. If he noticed the obviously shared beds in the middle of the floor, he didn't comment on it. 

Dan stayed quiet until he remembered something that seemed too important not to say, "he knew about us."

"What?" Said both Pj and Phil at the same time. 

"Phil, he called you my boyfriend. He wouldn't have had any way to know, but he guessed. And you know that they'll come searching even just on a guess." He may have just outed them to Pj, but Pj would have found out soon enough anyways. 

"Especially if it's a gay pair of soulmates." Phil looked entirely dejected. Dan wasn't used to seeing Phil like that, and the sight of it confirmed his gut feeling: they were in real danger. 

Pj didn't seem surprised, or if he was he kept it to himself.

"We need to get you out of here," he said, just as the doorbell rang downstairs. 

"This is the police, open up," came the overpowering call from the entryway. All 3 boys in the upstairs room froze.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, or if you spot any errors!


End file.
